Friday, January 1, 2016

Once again I received my ipsy bag at the end of the month. I am not sure what's causing the delay because I have been a subscriber for almost 3 years and never had this issue. But anyways, this month I received the following five products: Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick, Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eyeliner, Marc Anthony Deep Conditioning Treatment, RickyCare 3D Blender, ModelCo Lip Liner.

RickyCare by Ricky's NYC 3D Blender: When I first took it out of the packet and washed it, I did not like it at all because it felt rubbery and slippery like those traditional makeup wedges. It is not light and airy so does not bounce back to its shape like beauty blender, and retains the impression for a few seconds before going back to its normal shape. Also, it holds the water inside and shrinks in size on losing the excess water. However, it works. I used it with a light weight foundation and it blended well so I am definitely going to use it and keep the beauty blender for special occasions.

Marc Anthony Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment: I haven't used it yet but Marc Anthony products are usually nice so I am hoping for the best.

ModelCo Illusion Lip Liner & Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner

ModelCo Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner: From the packaging I thought this is going to be a beautiful vibrant pink liner but it is actually a pinky nude. It is just an average liner, and feels a bit drying.

Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner: This is my least favorite product from the bag. It lacks pigmentation, so requires a lot of work to build up the color but disappears in a single swipe. And its not just this liner that is below average in quality but almost all the products from this brand that I have tried through ipsy are same.

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Nudie Red

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Nudie Red & Tender Heart

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Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick in Nudie Red: This feels more like a balm than a lipstick because it is moisturizing, light weight and sheer. The shade nudie red is nude with reddish pinky hues and comes across as peachy. I have compared it with the shade called Tender Hearts from the same line and they look almost alike except that the latter is a tad bit browny.

Em Michelle Phan Shade Play Eye Color Palette in Bali Bronzes: This was a surprise product and I honestly thought that I received it by mistake, but then later found out that all the long term members have been sent different versions of this palette. The packaging is beautiful, the display is pretty but I feel the shadows are not up to the par. The very light gold does not show up and is not even visible in the picture. The three mid toned shades are nice but the two darker ones lack pigmentation. Also, all the shades are shimmery and very similar to each other. So, overall it is not a palette that can be used on its own as it does not have enough color and texture differentiation.

What did you get in your ipsy bag this month? What was your favourite product?

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Today I received my Ipsy bag in the mail and this month's theme is 19 reasons, which I think, has something to do with new year's resolutions. The products came in a nice sky blue bag. However, I felt that this months bag is quite plain and boring when a new years theme could have made it way more glamorous and cool.

Willa Naturals On The Go Face Towelettes: There are 10 lavender scented moist towelettes in a very compact pack, making it perfect for traveling. However, I found the scent to be somewhat off and not very pleasant. Also, I would prefer the L.A. Colors wipes that I received in a previous Ipsy bag over these Willa ones, because of all the unnecessary ingredients used.

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner: This is a more natural and supposedly healthy leave in conditioner i.e. made with soy and cocoa. I have not used it yet but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Also, this is one of the only products that I am excited to try from this month's bag.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow in Penny: Firstly, this pencil looks more like a liner than a shadow pencil. Secondly, it is quite sheer and needs a couple of swipes to build up some color that still looks very light. Therefore, I am definitely not going to swipe this tiny pencil back and forth on my eyelids. However, it does not budge once it sets, I literally had to scrub my hand with soap to get off the color and there is still some left. As far as the color is concerned, it is a true copper color with noticeable shimmer particles. On a side note, this is my second product from this brand that was sent by Ipsy, first being a mascara and unfortunately I don't like either of the two.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil vs NYX Jumbo Pencil

Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: I have never heard about this product before so I went onto their website to have a look at it. I found that it is formulated with all organic plant based ingredients and without any chemicals and parabens. Also, the 50 ml bottle of this product comes with a pump and retails for only $21.99. However, the issue is that I understand, it is a lightweight product but despite of ingredients like argan oil, almond oil, vitamin e, shea butter etc, it is just not moisturizing so I'll not buy it.

Mica Beauty Tinted Lip Balm in Natural: As you all know I am not a huge fan of this kind of pot packaging due to hygiene reasons. Other than that, the color is really beautiful rosy nude shade and the product is more like a lipstick than a lip balm as it is quite concentrated and sets to a semi-matte finish.

Overall, this months bag was a fail for me as I liked only one product i.e. the Healthy Sexy Hair Leave In Conditioner and that is the only that that I am probably going to use out of all. Also, it is not just what I received but all the products listed under myglam this month are kind of blah. Apart from that, I found the theme to be quite boring and not special enough to represent the new year. Hopefully, next month there will be something interesting for Valentines day.

What did you get in your Ipsy Bag this month?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Today's nail look is somewhat different for me because normally I do not wear glitter polish on all the nails at once as it is a pain to take off. However, this time I made an exception because my original plan of glitter accent with a nudey mauve shade didn't go well.

The polish that I used is Clio by Julep and to be honest I am quite disappointed with it. I bought several glitter polishes from Julep last month and based on how it looks in the bottle I thought this one is going to be my favorite, which unfortunately it isn't. In the bottle, it looks very condensed and multidimensional with beautiful pinkish rose gold specks mixed in with silver and gunmetal glitter. However, the problem is that on the nails it looks like plain flat silver glitter.

Also, another issues is that I had to use thick four coats to get this look and I can still see some gaps in between. I think next time I am going to layer it over a darker color for some added depth and intensity. However, on a side note, I really like the silver top of this polish as regular Julep polishes come with a black cap.

Do you like glitter polishes? How do you wear them?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Few days ago, I went to Sephora and was amazed at the wide range of sale item as it is quite rare in my area. One thing that instantly caught my eye was Smashbox Soft Box palette. This palette usually retails for $44 but was on sale for only $23. There are three similar palettes in the regular line, however, I believe this was a limited edition one. I always wanted to try Smashbox's infamous photo op formula but never did, so, this time I had to pick it up because both the colors and the price were appropriate.

Packaging: The box is classic black with raised shiny imprint on it. It is quite compact and sturdy. However, it is one of those kinds that easily get dirty and show every single touch mark on them, so quite a let down.

Layout: There are six shadows laid out in two rows along with a decent quality brush. However, where one side of the brush is flat shader, I don't know why the other side is such a tiny precision or a smudger instead of the usual blending brush. The only issue I have with the layout is that the names of individual shadows are printed on a loose clear plastic sheet, which is a hassle to keep in place.

Color Selection: There are three matte and three shimmery shades. One half of the colors belong to coppery brown family while the other half belong to purply taupe's. However, all the colors are great to put together a neutral eye look.

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Texture & Pigmentation: All the colors are very soft and creamy on touch. Some of them are more pigmented than others. Truffle, Juniper and Sumatra show up way more subtle than they are in the pan.

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Russet: A beautiful shimmery coppery brown.

Truffle: A cool toned grayish taupe.

Bare: A very light nude pink.

Juniper: A muted purple with golden shimmer.

Sandstorm: A true shimmery champagne gold.

Sumatra: A cool toned medium chocolate brown.

Overall, I really like this palette, especially at the price I got it for. The shadows are not overly intense but really good for everyday looks. Also, I like the mishmash of cool and warm toned shadows in one palette. As I said earlier, I have picked it up just a few days ago and there were at least thirty more palettes on the shelf that day so most probably you can still find it at Sephora stores near you.

Do you own this or any other versions of this palette? If yes, which one? And do you like it?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!